Evening Shadows
by Muse-icfan756
Summary: This is the seuqel to my first story, Sunset. Amy and the gang travel back to her hometown in England to find out more about adopted dhampirs. Whilst her relationship with Lewis starts to fully blossom, Amy will have to leave her old friends behind again.
1. Chapter 1  Trials

I tied up my hair and put on a scarlet cap that I'd got when I went to France. I was wearing a thin purple vest top and denim shorts for the hot summer's day. Or night. Montana was freezing in winter but boiling in summer. Lewis' hand was in mine, and we were heading towards the field, where the guardians had set up an arena for the trials. The novices in the year above us were doing their graduation trials which would help determine which Moroi they would guard in the upcoming year. The bleachers had been set up around the area to shelter the Moroi from the sun. Even though it was 7pm, the sun wouldn't go down until about 10pm. We climbed up and settled in a seat beside Jill. I licked a chocolate ice cream and watched carefully as the first novice took their place. This was going to be so exciting. As the fight began, I found myself analyzing what they were doing. There were a lot of techniques that I hadn't learnt yet. Rose had been training me these past couple of months and I think I'd finally mastered staking and dodging. My latest encounter with a Strigoi was not pleasant and, even though I'd succeeded in killing it, it had taken its toll on me. Especially as I had been seconds away from being responsible for the death of Adrian Ivashkov, former queen's great nephew. Lewis and I watched carefully as the person out there battled against the guardians playing as 'Strigoi'. She was quite good actually. There was one time when she was balancing on a log about three feet above the ground, though they'd been told to treat it as eleven, a distance that would kill them if they fell off. The 'Strigoi' she was against was Rose, and she was _not_ easy to beat, as I well knew. Especially on a tiny log. The girl, whose name was Anna, struck out with one fist, and Rose deflected it, not realising that she'd gone for her shoulder with the other one. She stumbled backwards. Huh, I'd have to use that one some day. Rose holds the best trials ever, which would have been amazing to watch. I had a feeling that Abe had recorded it, so I would have to watch it some time. Anna used her advantage to knock Rose back a little bit more, and then she knocked her off. It wasn't going to get her a very good score, as she didn't 'kill' her, but at least she'd evaded being 'killed' herself. We watched some more people. One person slipped on the log and landed, straddling it with one leg either side. Ouch. He still managed to 'kill' Rose, which was a brilliant achievement considering his position. I looked at Rose, who caught my eye, and I could've sworn that, although she was wearing that typical I'm-a-guardian-I-have-no-emotions mask, she would've been doubled over with laughter if we were in practice. We watched a couple of people fail their trials, a few excel it, and many just pass. Alberta, head of the guardians, came out to announce the ending.

"Please can all novices and guardians come to the main hall now. Yes, that does include those who aren't graduating," she announced.

"I'll take that as our cue to go," I said, pulling Lewis up with me. We said our goodbyes to Jill, who was heading to her dorm room with another friend. Wandering to the hall, Lewis asked me, "Are you nervous?"

"About what?"

"The trials when we do them next year. They look really difficult."

"Well, yeah. But we'll learn so much more this year and then we'll be able to do it, right?"

"I figured you wouldn't be nervous, what with your _molnija_ mark and everything."

"Just because I've killed a Strigoi doesn't mean I'm good at it. You didn't see me after then. I was a right state." A haunted look came over his eyes and I wondered what he was seeing. I didn't mean to make him upset, so I tried to change the subject. "That Ben guy was good though, wasn't he?"

"Was he the guy that fell on the log in the most awkward position ever?"

"Yeah, and he still managed to 'kill' Rose. I think he was amazing."

"Oh, dude, he was just funny!" He laughed and we entered the hall. Taking our seats, the new graduates line dup against the wall. There were about one hundred of them. This would be a long wait. I felt sorry for them, having to wait through all of that without moving or itching the back of their necks. I knew well how much the tattoos hurt even after they were on. There were a few gasps in the crowd as Ben's score was read out. He was definitely in the top ten trials of all time, and I was pleased for him. He deserved it. Eventually, the last person was tattooed, and they walked out towards whatever ceremonies were going on. I picked out Rose in the crowds and we walked over.

"You were great out there," I complimented her.

"I got beaten ten times!" she laughed.

"Isn't that a good thing? It means the new novices will be good."

"Yeah, I guess so. This is the guinea pig year, though. They only created the age decree last summer, so these guys had a lot to catch up with."

"I can imagine." I'd had to catch up five years, but with Rose as my teacher, I managed.

"Well, I've got to go. Alberta wants me for something. Probably cleaning." She pulled a face and jogged off, leaving me and Lewis alone in the now deserted hall. It was surprising how quickly it had gone down.


	2. Chapter 2 Surprise

**Okay, so I had a suggestion from jilightbookworm to do some chapters in Rose's point of view, so here it is. Please check my profile for updates. **

Rose

I jogged over to Alberta, who was waiting for me on the other side of the hall. We'd known each other for a long time, as she was head of the guardians here at St. Vladimir's.

"Do you know about the plans for the summer?" she asked me. Guardians always had to follow their charges around in the summer, unless they had a small holiday previously planned. I'd assumed Lissa was staying at the school, or going to Court, but it seemed that wasn't so from the way Alberta was speaking.

"Not exactly," I replied guiltily. Guardians were supposed to know things beforehand. She shook her head with a small smile at my typical attitude. I hadn't really matured since my school years.

"Lissa has decided to go to England." I felt my eyes widen with shock.

"England? Why didn't she tell me that?"

"I don't know, but she told me earlier to inform you that she wants to go to England. I suggest that you go and talk to her."

"Yeah, will do." I walked away in a bit of a daze. England? That didn't sound very interesting. I was hoping for somewhere exotic like Hawaii, or maybe back to Russia to seek her heritage. Obviously not. I knocked lightly on the door and she peeked out, her blonde hair in a halo around her head.

"Rose!" she cried gleefully.

"Hey, Lissa! Did you get to see the trials in the end?"

"I saw a few of them. Those new grads are really good. The Moroi at Court will be pleased to have them."

"Hmm, well, about Court. What exactly are your plans for this summer?"

"Ah, I guess you spoke to Alberta."

"Yeah. Why didn't you tell me yourself?"

"Well, I wanted it to be a surprise but when I tried to arrange flights, they said I had to let you know so that you'd be on your guard. Sorry." Oh, well, that was okay then. My mind had dredged up awful things she'd been keeping from me, when actually she was doing a nice deed.

"Why England, though? You know I've always wanted to go to Hawaii."

"I know but, maybe we can do that next year. This is kind of a learning holiday. I wanted to investigate these human adoptions of dhampirs, you see. I didn't know about it until last summer. I mean, why do they do it?"

"So, what? You're just going to ask random people if they've adopted a dhampir? That sounds a bit silly, don't you think?"

"No, I have it all planned out. We're going with Amy."

"We're what? Amy? Are you kidding?"

"Nope." She popped her 'p' and made it sound casual and normal that we were following my student home. I mean, sure, she was also my sister, but it was just weird.

"Does she know about this?"

"Not quite. I thought you'd want to tell her." Translated: I was too scared to do it and you're the guardian so you can do it because I forgot that I have compulsion.

"Well, thanks very much. When are we leaving?"

"Tuesday."

"Tuesday? That's like, two days away!"

"I couldn't get any other flights. Sorry, Rose." I sighed and she placed her hand on my shoulder. "It's got to be more interesting than staying at court, though. I mean, do you really want to be surrounded by all those snobby royals for the entire summer?" I knew she didn't think of them like that, and she was just doing it to suit _my_ feelings for them. Most of them were snobby royals, although, I had to admit, Ariana Szelsky did make a good quite. I checked the words for signs of compulsion to assure myself that she wasn't shoving me into something stupid, and then shook my head, submitting. She smiled like I'd just given her the moon, and then lugged a pile of paperwork onto the desk. I grumbled. It reminded me of the time I spent filing after our 'Vegas trip', otherwise known as the Victor Dashkov break out. "It's got to be done." I sat in a chair opposite her and we talked about guardian arrangements, hotels etc. By the time we'd finished, it was time for dinner. I pushed open the doors, scanning for Amy, and then headed over to her table.

**Yup. England is back! What? I couldn't leave my home country out of this for much longer. It's not fair that America gets all the excitement. We need some English vampire-busting action!**


	3. Chapter 3 Holiday

Amy

I'd already finished my dinner. And half of Jill's. Chicken casserole was one of my favourites, but she didn't seem to like it much. I couldn't let a good dinner go to waste, could I? I looked up and saw Rose walking towards us. I budged up and she squeezed in next to me.

"So," she began, "what is everyone doing for their holidays?"

"I'm going to Detroit," Jill mumbled dryly. I'd never been there, and from the way she said it, I didn't think I wanted to. Rose laughed.

"So, you haven't moved since last year?"

"We haven't moved since the beginning of time!"

"Amy? Lewis? What are you doing?" I had no idea. What _was_ I doing? I assumed I was staying here, with it being a boarding school and everything. It wasn't like my Mum and Dad could have me either.

"Nothing," I sighed. Lewis nodded.

"Looks like you're doing something now," Rose exclaimed brightly. "You're going to England?"

"Seriously? Like, whereabouts in England?"

"Like, your house."

"My house? Have you arranged this with my 'Mum'?"

"Nope," she continued as I began to protest, "but we're staying in a nearby hotel. I doubt she's moved since you last contacted her and it's not like she'll kick you out or anything."

"But, why?" This hadn't escaped me.

"Lissa wants to find out more about the adoption of dhampirs. From the sounds of it, she doesn't think it's a good idea. But it's better than being a blood whore, I guess."

"You're examining my family?"

"No, no. We're investigating it gently meanwhile you, and a friend, get to hang out with your old buddies and stuff." That _did_ sound appealing, I had to admit.

"Did you say a friend could come?"

"Sure, but by the looks of it, Jill can't make it." Jill pulled a face. I glanced at Lewis who had stayed quiet with a hopeful look on his face.

"I think I know who I'm taking." He grinned and kissed my cheek.

"Great! Well, we're leaving on Tuesday. The new grads will be going to court at the same time, so we'll have to meet at Lissa's office at 8pm sharp, okay?"

"Right." She left us alone to chat amongst ourselves.

"You two are so lucky," Jill moaned. "You get to go to England."

"Have you ever _been_ to England?"

"No, but I want to. It sounds more interesting than Detroit."

"You've got it all wrong. England's pretty boring. It only reaches the low twenties in temperature in the middle of summer, so it's not as warm as here. It's really not too different though. The only reason I'm excited is because it's home."

"What will I need to take? We're going for six weeks," Lewis questioned.

"Well, summery stuff. You know, swim suits, shorts, t-shirts. You'll probably want to grab a few jumpers and long trousers though. I doubt it'll be warm the whole time, if ever."

"Are you going to take your dress?" I saw a sparkle in his eyes as we both pictured the dress. It was gorgeous. Jill had bought it for me earlier on in the year, for the dance after my Strigoi encounter. It was a deep scarlet, and was ankle length. Quite tight fitting, but gorgeous all the same. My figure had improved from all the exercise I'd been doing. He'd liked that dress.

"Probably. Although I have got a new dress. Some of my friends are quite rich and could possibly throw a party for my 'homecoming'." I decided in my head to take both dresses to see how I felt on the day. I _was_ going for a whole six weeks. We parted after dinner and Lewis and I headed to the novice dorms. He kissed me and left for his room. I trudged up to mine and flopped onto the bed, exhausted.

Tuesday came around quickly. I packed up all my stuff, and then realised that we'd be moving up to the senior dorm after the holidays, so I had to move the small amount of belongings I wasn't taking with me into storage. Zipping up my case, I had to sit on it to make sure it would close. I'd bought small gifts for my friends and family. Only stuff you could get from an American tourist shop but, as my mother would say, it's the thought that counts. Jill had already left for Detroit, with a very teary goodbye on her behalf, so Lewis and I headed to Lissa's room alone. My stomach curled in anticipation of the holiday as we waited for Rose to arrive.


	4. Chapter 4 Flight

Rose

I was late. Again. So, I'd wanted to pack a bit too much stuff and struggled to get it all in the suitcase. So what? Lissa rolled her eyes when I hurried down the corridor. There was our small crowd: Lissa, Christian, Amy, Lewis, Dimitri and me. As we boarded the plane, Lissa handed me a silver ring. When I touched it, I felt that it had been infused with spirit. I was notoriously known for seeing 'ghosts' on plane trips as the wards were down. It was part of the spirit induced madness and this ring would hopefully keep them away. I slid into the seat next to Dimitri, which was opposite Amy and Lewis. Amy was listening to her iPod. Honestly, did she ever put it down? I felt a small pang of jealousy. I'd wanted an iPod for my eighteenth birthday, but that birthday had been particularly tragic. And anyway, what use would a guardian have for an iPod? I ordered a bottle of lemonade and tried to tune out Lissa and Christian's chatter from behind. It was a long flight to England, so I decided to get some more sleep. I'd end up with severe jet lag otherwise. I'd never been particularly good at getting to sleep, and the fact that I could sense Dimitri watching me didn't help. However, I was eventually blessed with sleep, only to find that my peace was interrupted by Adrian Ivashkov.

The Academy grounds materialised around us, yet it was devoid of life. It was eerie, like a 'true' vampire. I realised that I wore the denim shorts and tank top I was wearing in real life, and I could almost feel the leather on the seats sticking to my legs.

"Hey, Rose!" Adrian greeted me. He smiled and his stylishly messy hair flopped in front of his eyes.

"Hey, Adrian!" I replied meekly. Even though it was a year on, he still bore a bit of a grudge to Dimitri and I, as we'd been going out before Dimitri was transformed back into a dhampir.

"You're on a weird schedule. I didn't think I'd catch you." I glanced up at the screen over our heads which displayed information on our destination and current position.

"Well, I'm sleeping on the plane. Apparently we're passing over the Atlantic."

"That's quite a big ocean, Rose."

"Well it's not like I can tell you our exact latitude and longitude, is it? Why do you even care?"

"I don't. You assumed I did."

"Oh haha. Whatever. So, what exactly did you want this time?"

"Nothing. Just checking up on you." His eyes were sad and I didn't like it.

"Don't you have a girlfriend?" Adrian was well known among our community for the girls he hung out with. However, there'd been no recent reports of activities with the opposite gender recently.

"Nope."

"Maybe you should get one instead of bugging me all the time."

"Nah. It's not fun anymore."

"Hmmm. You've matured. Well, you're going to have to find something to do this summer because we're going to be in England for the next six weeks."

"I'm sure I'll-" He was cut off by Dimitri nudging me back in the real world. The dream dissolved and we were descending down into the airport. I welcomed the feeling of my stomach turning. It felt exhilarating and exciting. We trudged off of the plane into the airport itself. I was overwhelmed by the amount of people there. This airport practically had its own mall. There was a Starbucks, a tourist shop, a phone dealer, WHSmith. People were bustling around everywhere and planes were flying in all directions outside. It was a wonder anybody could make sense of it all.

"Aw, they all have such cute accents!" Lissa squealed, which resulted in a scowl from Amy and a chuckle from Dimitri. I definitely preferred _his_ accent. After grabbing our luggage, we stepped outside. It was sunny but there was a cool breeze. Lissa and Christian shielded themselves from it. A quick check of my watch confirmed the messed up time schedule suspicions. 2pm. We caught a taxi to the hotel we were staying at and checked in. We'd got three adjacent rooms: One for Lissa and Christian, one for Dimitri and I and one for Amy and Lewis. I would've liked to see there reaction to that. Actually, thinking about it, I wouldn't. The rooms all had doors joining them, which we kept ajar to make contact with the other rooms. I doubted a Strigoi would bother attacking us here, but we always had to be careful. Being guardians, Dimitri and I had to battle our jet lag and work shifts to provide optimum protection for the Moroi, who were already crashed out on the bed. Whether it had something to do with being home or not, Amy had no problem adjusting to the English human schedule. I guess she'd lived it for most of her life. I saw her slip out with Lewis a little while later and there was a note on the dresser saying that they'd gone to visit Amy's friends and would be back soon. Dimitri seemed extremely anxious about their safety, but I knew it would be okay. It was a sunny day and Lewis and Amy were capable enough to take a Strigoi or something trying to hurt them. Even though I'd slept so much on the plane, I couldn't stand upright due to exhaustion, so I was immediately grateful to Dimitri for always being the gentleman and letting me sleep first. God, I was tired.


	5. Chapter 5 Body

Amy

The hotel was only a couple of streets down from my previous school. A quick check of my watch told me that last lesson was ending in ten minutes, so Lewis and I headed up there. I leaned against the wall in my t-shirt and denim shorts. My hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and I had a tan from all the sun exposure. I had my arms folded across my chest and could sense the stake in my pocket. Lewis stood beside me, lounging under a tree. A couple of the teachers leaving work early gave us strange looks, and I was surprised that none of them recognised me. However, somebody did.

I caught sight of a girl with short blonde hair cropped to her chin and pale features. She could almost have been mistaken for a Moroi, except she was as short as I was. She always looked perfect and proper, with her skirt at normal length. She looked different, somehow, but I would've recognised that face anywhere. I waited until she walked past me, whistling casually. She took a step back and her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Amy?" she asked tentatively. "Is that you?" I grinned and she threw her arms around me. "Oh God, I've missed you so much! Why did you leave? Are you back now?" She was sobbing into my shoulder now.

"I missed you too, Mary. But I'm only here for the summer." She suddenly seemed to notice Lewis by my side. Wiping away her tears on her sleeve, she scanned him with those inquisitive eyes.

"Who's this?"

"This is my boyfriend Lewis." He stepped forward and waved at her awkwardly.

"Hi," he murmured softly. Mary gave me a knowing look and I ignored it, instead focusing on a figure walking towards us. I recognised him as my old art teacher. He hadn't changed at all in the past half a year. He even wore his paint splattered aprons outside of school. Oh dear.

"Well, well, well," he chuckled. "If it isn't Amy Toran who left to go to America. You've grown a lot. I barely recognised you." I didn't bother correcting the surname. Over here, that's who I was. We'd been on quite a friendly basis, actually. I was his top student and he often chatted to me while I was crafting my latest masterpiece.

"Yeah," I laughed. "It's the summer break so I thought I come back to visit all my pals in England." We chatted for a bit more and Mary promised to contact me soon, and then we left back for the hotel.

"Is England always like this?" Lewis asked.

"Like what?"

"It's really quiet."

"You're right. I hadn't noticed." The only noise was a faint mumbling coming from the house we were standing next to. "How odd." I grabbed his hand and we wandered back. I was starting to feel the exhaustion pressing down on me. Suddenly, I caught something in my peripheral vision. I grabbed my stake and sprinted over. I could hear Lewis behind me. There was a human body lying on the ground in the bark. Thankfully, it wasn't anybody I recognised, but it was still odd. I whipped out my phone and prepared to call emergency services when Lewis called, "Wait! Look at this!" He was pointing to the neck of the victim. There were two small puncture marks and the body had been completely drained of blood.

"Looks like the work of a Strigoi to me." I deleted the number I had dialled in and selected Rose's number instead. Except it was a male voice that answered.

"Hello?" the Russian accent answered.

"Hey, Dimitri, it's Amy."

"Amy! Where are you?"

"Walking back to the hotel with Lewis. We've found something you need to see." There was a scuffle at the other end of the line and some protests, before I heard Rose speaking.

"What is it?" she questioned. "It'd better be important. You woke me up."

"We think we've found a Strigoi victim." The other end of the line went silent and suddenly I heard hushed whispers between the two of them. "What? What is it?"

"We're going to come down and meet you. Where are you?" I scanned the road for something that would tip off our area.

"Opposite the petrol station near the school. There's a field there. You'll see us." She hung up and we continued to examine the body. My fist was clenched around my stake just in case the Strigoi was still nearby. There was absolutely no life in the corpse and I wondered how long it had been there without anybody realising. It was really peculiar. Rose soon arrived, along with everybody else looking pretty bleary-eyed. The only person who seemed alert was Dimitri and he was the only one who hadn't had any sleep yet. They analysed the body too, hiding it behind a tree. Rose made a quick call to somebody who would 'dispose' of it, and we went back to the hotel. I pushed open the door to the room that I was sharing with Lewis. We both stood in the tiny doorway.

"One bed," I groaned.

"We should do shifts. We'd be safer then as well."

"Good idea." Dear Lord, he was a Dimitri in the making. Lewis slept first, and I watched him. He looked so peaceful in his sleep that I was afraid it would lull me into sleep as well. I leaned against he wall and scoped the room for danger, waiting for my turn to rest.


	6. Chapter 6 Sleep

Rose

I watched Dimitri sleeping. It had come to be one of my favourite pastimes. He looked so sweet and innocent in his sleep. Which, of course, he was not. But he looked like he had no cares in the World. And I like that. He always seemed to take the World on his shoulders and sleep was when he let his guard down. So I was his guard. I'd already slept. Being the gentleman, he let me go first. AS I leaned against the wall, I suddenly thought about Amy and Lewis. Maybe it _wasn't_ such a good idea to give them only one bed. God Dammit. Now I'd have to go and check on them. Although, knowing Amy, she wouldn't dare do anything. I snuck through Lissa's room where she and Christian were sleeping, thankfully, peacefully. Knocking lightly on the door, I waited for a reply. There was nothing. I cracked open the door to reveal Lewis sprawled over the bed fast asleep. Which should mean that Amy was on watch. Scanning the room, I suddenly noticed her. She was lying on the floor with her head resting against the wall and her legs scrunched up. Obviously she'd been on watch and fallen asleep. Well, I did warn her about jet lag. Oh no, we're not going to listen to Rose, are we? Serves her right. I shook her and her eyes flew open. Her hands grasped for her stake and then she relaxed. Rubbing her bleary eyes, she murmured,

"What do you want, Rose?"

"You're supposed to be on watch!" I hissed.

"What time is it?"

"3am." She groaned and turned over.

"It's Lewis' turn. My shift ended 3 hours ago, but he wouldn't wake up." Her eyes fluttered closed and I sighed. She was out in a flash.

Turning to Lewis, I whispered, "Oi, Lewis! Wake up!" into his ear. He squinted at me and muttered,

"Amy?" I hit him on the head.

"No. It's Rose."

"What the hell are _you_ doing in here?"

"Waking you up. It's Amy's turn to sleep. Your shift time. Stupid idiot, you overslept!" He seemed fully awake now.

"Amy? Oh, Amy, I'm sorry." He scrambled out of bed and planted a kiss on her cheek, stroking her hair. He was lovestruck. I shook my head and went back to my room, where Dimitri was waiting for me.

"I figured you'd gone in there," he smiled. I sat down next to him and buried my head in his chest, snuggling up against his 6'7" figure. Pressing his lips to mine, we stayed like that for a while. We chatted about various things, and I found out that he'd recently spoken to his family. They were nice people. At about 6am, I stretched and said,

"Well, Dimka, we'd best get up." He grinned at his Russian nickname and pulled on some clothes. I slipped next door and watched over the sleeping Moroi. Amy and Lewis soon joined us. It seemed that three hours of sleep had really revived her.

Lissa's eyes flicked open and she gasped.

"How long have you guys been waiting for us?" she asked.

"Not long," I replied. There was some movement under the cover beside her, which I could tell from the bond was her hitting Christian in the leg.

"Hey!" he groaned. "What was that for?"

"Get up," she laughed, slamming a pillow over his moaning mouth. We left to give them some privacy and I explained what we were going to do today.

"We're going to see my mother?" Amy questioned. "You are _not_ using her as a test subject."

"Have a little faith. We wouldn't do that. We'll just ask a few questions, you know, to find out information," I answered. She still didn't seem happy. Once we were all changed, Lissa said,

"Amy, can you lead us to your house."

"Sure," she replied, smiling sweetly. I glanced at Dimitri, who was obviously doubting the truth in that, like I was. However, five minutes later, we ended up outside a red brick house with a slightly mucky white door. "I think, that if we all go at the same time she'll get freaked out, so I'll go first and then you guys can come." We nodded in unison. She took a deep breath and strode up the drive.


	7. Chapter 7 Home

Amy

A familiar face opened the door. She had short, messy brown hair and bleary eyes that widened when she saw me.

"Amy?" she gasped.

"Hi, Mum," I mumbled, my voice muffled in her T-shirt. She had pulled me into a massive hug. And I hadn't realised quite how much I'd missed her. I'd always relied on her before, but this new life was so different. I hadn't realised how much I'd longed for somebody to just put their arms around me and- "Ew, Mum. You're making my shoulder wet!" She pulled back and smiled at me.

"I'm just so happy that you came back."

"Well, Mum, I didn't really-" I was cut off as she caught sight of the others over my shoulder.

"Oh. You brought your friends back. Well, your brother's at his friend's house at the moment, so the house is pretty empty." I gestured to the others behind my back and we traipsed through the house to the sitting room. I plonked myself down on our old green sofa and laid back my head. Rose and Dimitri stood up in various places around the room whilst Lissa perched on the chair beside me. Christian and Lewis decided that it would be best if they stayed hidden in the house, which was odd. They were probably stood outside the door or something stupid like that.

"So. What have you been up to at the Academy?" Mum asked, clearly with difficulty.

"Oh, stuff," I replied, glancing at Rose. I wasn't sure how much I could tell her. "I killed my first Strigoi." She stared at me.

"Oh, baby, you did? How wonderful! I'm so proud of you." I smiled until she turned on Rose and Dimitri. "Are you insane? Letting fifteen year olds go around and murder evil vampires that could kill them with the touch of a hand?"

"Mrs Toran, you have to understand," Dimitri added in his cool guardian voice. "We dhampirs are specifically built for this sort of thing. We gained brilliant senses as well as more speed and strength than an average human. This would've happened to her eventually."

"No, it wouldn't! I would've kept her safe! I adopted her to save her from this!" Ah ha. A clue. Lissa noticed it too and scribbled it down in a notepad which appeared from her jacket pocket.

"Please listen to me." He put his hands on her shoulders as she was now, stupidly, running towards him. No human was going to hold off Dimitri.

"No! I can't believe that you're making my baby do this! She's a murderer and will eventually be murdered herself. Give me one reason I shouldn't report you to the police!"

"Hey!" I yelled. Everyone in the room swivelled towards me, shocked. "Stop it, Mum! This was my decision. I _want _to do this. It's what I'm meant to be."

"Excuse me? You _want_ to be a murderer?"

"I'm not a murderer, Mum. I'm saving them! The Moroi need us to guard them and I don't care if it takes my life to do it!" I was on my feet now making erratic hand gestures.

"It will not take your life! You're never going back there! I forbid it! As your mother, I forbid you from going back there!"

"You're not my mother!" I shrieked, and then stormed out of the room. As I sprinted up the stairs, I breezed past Christian and Lewis who were, yes, pressed against the wall beside the door with eyes like saucers. "What are _you_ looking at?" I spat and raced to my old room.

Slamming the door beside me, I threw myself onto the bed like I used to when I had a hissy fit. I felt traitor tears in my eyes, which I quickly brushed away, and looked around. The room was exactly as I'd left it, except there was a thick layer of dust. I was surprised; I thought she would've given this room to my brother, Ben. He was begging for it for years. But as I looked, I saw all my childhood memories flood back. Like, for example, the time I'd been obsessed with collecting bottle tops and displaying them on my windowsill. Or the time that I stubbed my toe so hard that it bled all over the carpet by the door. Except, there was one change. On the shelf where all my important belongings had been, there was now a row of school photos and then a small folder slipped in beside them. They ranged from my first day at nursery school, to the first picture of year 10. There was one extra picture, however, which was framed beside it. It was a picture of me the day before I'd left. I remembered it being taken.

It was 6am and I was getting ready for school. My hair was a tangled mess, as always, and I was bleary-eyed with sleep. My mother jumped out from behind the cupboard and snapped a photo of me. In the photo now, I was halfway between angry and surprised. It was an awful picture. I turned it around and suddenly heard a floorboard creak behind me.

I whirled around to find Lewis standing behind me, practically breathing down my neck.

"You were a cute kid. Not surprising with how you turned out," he complimented me. My first few years were quite cute, I guess. I had a cheeky smile and chubby cheeks. My hair was chin length and made up entirely of ringlets. Obviously I got Janine's curly gene. I pulled the folder off of the shelf and we pored over it. It was quite heavy and contained a copy of every picture every taken of me. Some I didn't even know were taken. It was a range of different things; my birth, various birthday parties, my first day of school, days out. It had it all.

"You know," Lewis muttered, "she must miss you a lot."

"Yeah. I hadn't realised how much. She seemed so teary when she opened the door. It's been half a year, though. Even longer."

"I think we, well you, should go down there again and continue talking to here. This is important information and you know she just cares for you."

"Yeah, I know." He kissed me and then we headed down the stairs.


	8. Chapter 8 Closer

Rose  
"Please, Mrs Toran. We need you to tell us," Lissa pleaded. "Why did you adopt a dhampir?" She was getting frustrated. We'd been asking her over and over again to no avail. We didn't want to use compulsion, but it may be necessary. I was surprised that I hadn't spoken yet.  
"I did it to protect her. I've already told you," Mrs Toran said sharply, her eyes still filled with tears at the hole Amy had left behind. That girl didn't realise the mess she made in her wake. Taking after her sister, obviously.  
"How? Please tell us. For research. To help other families like you."  
"I found myself in this building and these strange people were there. They had flower tattoos." I recognised them as the Alchemists. I was friends with one. Sort of. "They explained basically about Moroi and said we could adopt these dhampirs."  
"That's it? They just let you take these dhampirs?"  
"No. They injected us with this thing. I don't know what it was. But every time I try to tell anyone but my former husband about it, it won't let me." A compulsion spell. Very clever.  
"Can I see it?" Mrs Toran held out her arm and there was a small dot in her elbow crease that shouldn't have been there. Lissa stroked it and then scribbled something down in her elegant script on the notepad. "Where could we find your former husband?"  
"He lives on the other side of the village. Number 32 Main Road. Unless he's moved. But I doubt he has." The door sprung open to reveal Amy looking outraged.  
"We're going to see Dad?" she exclaimed.  
"I thought you'd be happy," I muttered.  
"Happy? He's an idiot! I hate him! I haven't seen him in years!"  
"Well, now you're going to."  
"Oh, this is just great. I thought we were going on holiday, but instead we're going to find my flippin' father. Brilliant." She folded up her arms and flopped back onto the sofa.  
"Amy, this might just help us," Lissa explained. "Thank you, Mrs Toran. We really must go now."  
"No!" Mrs Toran cried. "Don't leave me, Amy!"  
"Mum, I'll come back," Amy told her, patting her back. It was like role reversal. Dimitri, who had been silent the whole time, was eager for us to go. I saw him silently shuffle Christian and Lewis out of the front door. "We'll be back really soon."  
"Okay." We left the house and walked back to the hotel. Amy said we could walk to her father's house, but the Moroi wouldn't make it in this heat. Instead, we got the car.  
"Nice to see your mother again?" I asked Amy.  
"No," she grumbled. "She's not gonna let go."  
"She just loves you."  
"Yeah." She seemed tense about going to her father's, but really, how bad could it be? He was just a human guy, right? Maybe we could get some more information out of him so that we could enjoy the rest of our time here. I'd heard that London had some nice shopping, and a trip to the beach might be nice. With plenty of sun cream, of course.  
We pulled up to a small bungalow. Obviously Amy's father lived alone. The sun cast shadows across the front lawn, giving it a slightly eerie look. Amy shuddered.  
"Is this it?" Dimitri asked her.  
"Yeah. Sadly."  
"Well, we'll wait out here for a moment. I wouldn't be surprised if your dad wants some alone time." She steeled herself and wandered up the driveway, trainers slapping against the ground ominously. My own words came back to me.  
_How bad could it be?_ Quickly, I warned Dimitri. Good thing, too.

**So, who do you guys think Amy looks like? Review please!**


	9. Chapter 9 Surprise

Amy

I rang the doorbell and waited for answer. Nothing, of course. I pressed the button again and looked around me. The doorway was wreathed in the smell of cigarettes, and the recycling bin was full of stale beer cans. My dad had resorted to drinking and smoking after he left us, which was another reason to hate him. Ew. After about five minutes of waiting, I got out the keyring I'd slipped in my pocket. I didn't really know why I still had has key, considering it had been so long since I'd seen him, but it still fit nicely in the door. I twisted it and stepped inside, not bothering to take my shoes off. The once cream carpet was now almost brown with patches of a rusty colour that didn't look too good.

"Dad?" I called out, almost choking on the smell of smoke. It was disgusting. "Dad?" I felt a small breeze and whirled around to see him leaning against the doorway, examining me carefully. But I was frozen. My feet welded themselves to the door and my hands were shaking. I felt my eyes widen as I really saw him. He was a Strigoi.

"I knew this day would come," he murmured, sauntering up to me and putting his hand under my chin. "I don't really want to kill you, dearest daughter. So, how about, I awaken you instead?" Crap. I tried to kick my brain back to life and slowly I felt blood rush to the tips of my fingers again. I lifted my arm and my fist robotically connected with his jaw. I was still stunned by just the thought of my Dad as a Strigoi, let alone him actually trying to awaken me, which gave him an unfair advantage. _Come on Amy_, I thought, _get yourself together._ However, my Dad knew my weaknesses. Before he left, we always used to have play-fights together. I went to kick him in the stomach, but his Strigoi reflexes caught my leg. I was left with him bending my leg further and further towards my head, smiling wickedly. If he wasn't carefully my jean would rip. I lost my balance and toppled over, crashing towards the floor. What was wrong with me? The sight of a Strigoi alone should trigger my automatic guardian response. I tried to fight him off, but his beer belly was just too heavy and it pinned me to the ground. And then, he did something I truly wasn't expecting. He tickled me. And I laughed. Because, when someone does that, you lose control of yourself. The only rational part of my brain left was screaming at me, _what are you doing? He's not your Dad anymore. He's a Strigoi!_ But it was helpless. And then, he caught the birthmark at my lower spine. I screeched as he scratched his nails over it over and over again. Blood pooled and began to dribbled down my back and onto the carpet. So that was what the stains were. I was losing so much blood. Black spots invaded my vision and he took this moment to carry me up the stairs.

"Rose!" I yelled hoarsely, but my voice was muffled as he shoved me into the airing cupboard and somehow managed to squeeze in with me. How the hell he managed, I will never know.

"Don't be like that, Amy," he pleaded. "We can be together forever. We could rule the whole town. I'm sure your mother would taste nice." That triggered it. I kicked out and started screaming wildly, like a mad kid throwing a tantrum. He was getting tired and leaned towards my neck. I jerked out of the way, wondering whether he would awaken me or just kill me. I couldn't tell which was worse, but I doubted it was fun being a Strigoi. I shoved his face away with my hands as hard as I could, not really caring about practice anymore. I resorted to brute force and speed to keep his horrible fangs away from my neck. And then, of course, Rose appeared behind him like an angel ready to rid the World of all evil. I sighed in relief and gasped out, "Kill him!" She Didn't hesitate like I had. She'd learned her lesson with Dimitri because she was just that good. Her supple arms allowed her to drive the stake swiftly and firmly through my former father's back, and he collapsed on top of me. I heaved his dead body off and rolled away, coughing. I couldn't watch as Rose sprinkled the dissolving powder over him. Lewis came to sit down next to me, and put his arm around my shoulder. My eyes felt dry.

"It's okay," he murmured. "Everything's fine. I didn't think you liked him anyway."

"I didn't. That's the point." As soon as the room cleared up, we went back to the car and I took a breath of the freshest air I could find. God Help Me.

**Please review and check my profile for updates! **


	10. Chapter 10 Plans

Rose

We sat in the car and the tension was palpable. I could almost taste it. Dimitri drove-again- and we went back to the hotel. Amy was rubbing her back crazily. Lewis put his arm around her as we drove. They were so cute together. Lissa was sending me things through the bond.

_Her aura's really upset._ Well, what was _I_ supposed to do about it? Stupid one way bond. I couldn't say anything back to her. I gave her an aggravated look and Dimitri, who always noticed everything, raised an eyebrow at me. I simply shook my head. That could wait until we got back.

We trudged through the hotel which consisted of a plain hallway, a tiny cafe and corridors and corridors of rooms. Nothing special. You would've thought that Lissa would use her fund to let us stay at a Hilton or something, but no. Apparently that wasn't necessary. Oh well. It's not like we were spending much time here, anyway. We unlocked our door and plonked ourselves down on the big double bed. Amy and Lewis scurried off into the other room to do something else.

"Do you think he was the cause of the problems in this place?" Christian asked.

"That would be good," I answered, gaining a few looks. I tried to convey my point. "Because that means we've now solved the problem. However, there was more damage than just one Strigoi. I think there might be a couple spread around the nearby cities. Local newspapers are getting a lot of business."

"What are we going to do?" Dimitri mused. Good point.

"Well, I still have my Strigoi radar." Blank looks surrounded me. "You know, the sickness from being near them. We could try to track them down..."

"Not a good idea. We don't want anybody getting hurt." We had two Moroi and two novices. Hmmmm. What could we do?

"We could just wait for another attack before we grab'em," Christian suggested.

"That's the only sound plan we're going to get," I confirmed.

"So, that's it. Just wait?" Lissa seemed troubled by our simple plan. If Sydney had been here, she would've had a heart attack.

"Yeah. Pretty much."

"Well, will we tell Amy and Lewis?" I listened closely and could hear faint voices and a bit of banging around. Dimitri looked concerned, but they were only teenagers. I had a fairly good idea what they were up to.

"We'll tell them later," I decided. Not much would happen between now and then. I'm sure they'd manage to stay safe.

"Where will we get more information?" Christian asked. "About the adoption?" Lissa held up her notepad.

"I got some places from Mrs. Toran," she explained. "Where she adopted Amy etc. We could go there and talk to the people that run it."

"Brilliant." We all nodded in agreement. I turned to Dimitri.

"Shifts?" He nodded simply. Of course, being the gentleman, he went first, so I hopped into the shower, allowing the warm water to rinse off today' troubles and Strigoi blood. Eww. Let's hope we don't get into much more trouble.

**Sorry it's short. I don't have much spare time at the moment. Please review!**


	11. Chapter 11 Gash

Amy

I plonked down my stuff and sat on the bed. I was left reeling after the day's events, and I wondered how Mum would take it. She'd always said she hated him and wanted him to die, but I didn't think she meant it. Lewis sat next to me and squeezed me tightly. I buried my face in his shoulder. I'd never felt so weak. It was ridiculous. He pressed his lips to mine and we kissed. It wasn't sweet like most of our kisses. It was more urgent, rougher than usual, but I liked it. His hands slid up the back of my top and left electric shocks where he passed. I felt myself arcing backwards until I tipped and we ended up lying on the bed. He rolled and continued to kiss me.

Suddenly, I gasped and pulled back. Searing pain shot through me and I froze on the bed.

"Amy?" Lewis asked anxiously. "What is it?"

"My...back," I stammered. "Oh God, it kills." I felt blood trickling from where my father had caught me on my birthmark earlier. I squeezed my eyes shut as Lewis pulled my top up at the back. His eyes widened.

"What did he _do _to you, Amy?" I knew that there would now be a big gash. The blood was drying around the edges and it was so sore.

"My weakness." I pushed my face into the pillow as he touched it gently.

"Oh God, Amy. This needs cleaning-up." He picked me up and staggered to the bathroom. Dhampir or not, he wasn't able to carry me very well. He raided the cupboards and found some generic shower gel to use. The bathroom consisted of a toilet, sink and a bath with a shower to attached itself to the taps. _Yay_, I thought sarcastically. "Do you think you can shower yourself?" I reached my arms around to try and feel for the gash, but whenever I got close, my nails would scrape it and make it worse.

"No," I gasped out.

"I'll...I'll go get Rose. Or Lissa. She can heal you."

"No, Lewis, don't. When Lissa heals it takes a great toll on her mental health. I can sort it out." I yanked my T-shirt completely off with one hand and was about to put the shower over my back when I remembered I was wearing a bra. I fumbled for it but Lewis got there first. I tipped up my head and looked at him gratefully through my hair which was now flying around in tangles in front of my face. It took me just a second to realise why he was staring at me. I was wearing no top. Crap. He glanced away and started backing out of the bathroom, but I grabbed the hem of his jeans and wouldn't let go.

"Amy..." he began. "I can't. You're...you're...It's wrong." I shook my head.

"Lewis, I just need your help. _Please._" I wasn't very good at doing seductive smiles, so I tried to copy what Rose often did when I caught her flirting with Dimitri. _She thinks I can't see her, but I know what goes on in that dirty little mind of hers._ I quit my evil thoughts and handed Lewis the shower before bending over the bath completely. He stood there, dazed, before beginning to massage the area around my back. Oh God, it felt good. I only meant for him to wash it. He rinsed the gash and stopped the blood flowing, but then came the difficult bit. The shower gel stank of tea tree, which wasn't a scent I liked anyway, and he began to scrape away at the dried blood around the cut. He washed the gash and I whimpered, biting my lip against my shriek. Thankfully, he rinsed it again before patting it down softly with a towel. He wrapped the towel around me before turning me to face him. I kissed him softly. World's best boyfriend. I flicked off the bathroom light and wandered into the bedroom, closing the curtains before draping the towel over the armchair that was sat in the corner. Lewis plonked himself down on it and made a great show of not looking, but I knew he peeked anyway. I didn't mind. We'd been going out for a while now, and it wasn't like we were doing anything, well, _wrong_. I pulled on a purple and white stripy T-shirt before sitting on his lap. I fiddled with his collar as I spoke.

"What are we going to do now, then?" I wondered.

"I don't know. I guess we have more of that investigation stuff to do, but that's okay. That Russian dude is quite a nice guy."

"_Dimitri_. I'd like to show you some of my favourite places around here. South-East England can be pretty nice when we try." He grinned and then stood up. I tumbled off of him.

"I'm gonna get changed. And, yeah, you can come with me if you want." He winked and I shook my head, a grin playing across my face.

"I think I'll stay out here."

"Whatever you say, girl. I'm at your command." I kissed him on the cheek and he headed off before I checked my phone.


	12. Chapter 12 Town

Rose

When Dimitri woke up, he smiled at me. There had been no noise from next door, although I knew there had been something coming from Amy and Lewis' room early evening. I excused myself and checked in on them whilst Dimitri changed. I knocked on their door and waited for a few moments before being allowed in. Amy was lying in the bed, watching me, with the duvet wrapped around her like a cocoon. Lewis' hair was dishevelled and I had a feeling that I'd just woken him up. Welcome to the world of being a guardian. I scoped the room and noticed a T-shirt and bra draped over the armchair. My first thought was _ooh, what have you two been up to._ But then I noticed that it was tinged red. I examined it and realised it was bleeding. I turned to face Amy, standing in blue and white spotty PJ's.

"I can explain," she stammered.

"You'd better. What's going on?" She turned to face the wall and lifted up her top. It had to go pretty high and I wondered what Lewis was seeing from the other side. Amy was much more innocent than I was at her age, but I knew fooling around when I saw it. There was a giant gash right down the middle of her back. She told me what happened and I gasped. Another knock interrupted the story and she quickly smoothed down her top before getting it. Dimitri stood there, holding a cup of coffee and a Western. I took in our positions and the fact that Amy was flushed and his eyes narrowed.

"What's going on?" he asked in that gorgeous accent. Amy couldn't show him the gash because, well, he was a 25-year-old guy. Simple, really. So she continued to tell the story.

"Well, Amy, it's cleaned-up now, right?" I noticed the look that Lewis gave her as she nodded. We headed to Lissa and Christian's room, where they were both fully dressed.

"Today," Lissa announced, "we are going to the actual adoption centre."

"Where is it?" Amy asked."I know this village like the back of my hand and I've never seen it."

"It's in the main town on one of the back roads." Amy looked thoughtful. Once we'd all packed up our necessary equipment; a bottle of water, phones, stakes and some sandwiches, we set off. It was a five minute drive and we parked in a multi-storey next to TESCO. Lissa handed Amy a slip of paper with the address on it, and we followed her. We swerved in and out of cars before crossing over an manky looking river. This brought us to a leisure centre. We took a pathway and avoided bicycles coming the other way. The main town was bustling with people. There was a sweet shop which was crammed with teenagers and The Entertainer was giving off the noises of children playing and shrieking for new toys. The pathways were crammed full of people. Didn't they have malls in England? Was it all open town centres? As we made our way towards the mysterious address, we passed all sorts of shops. Most of them I'd never heard of. Where was Macy's or Hollister? The most I saw was an Abercrombie and Fitch T-shirt.

"They're really rare brands over here," Amy explained. "If you have that sort of stuff then you obviously have loads of money." Hmm, how strange. Usually those sorts of shops were just normal brands back in America. I saw a WHSmith, McDonalds, Boots, HMV, GAME. There were loads of shops, and people were rushing to get everywhere. There was a little zebra crossing which seemed to be permanently on the green man, and we passed by it, turning off down a little road where there were about five bus stops. We turned again at the Wetherspoons pub and found ourselves in a little courtyard.

"I never even knew this was here," Amy breathed. There was no sunlight, which was good for the Moroi, and no trees at all. It was very bland, so she'd probably had no reason to be here. I scanned the slip of paper which had a drawing of the courtyard and an arrow pointing to a big red brick building that loomed up in front of us. We entered and wandered down a corridor. It was line with doors and each had a different name: Finance, Connexions, NO ENTRY, cleaning. It went on forever. The only one that didn't have a name was the door at the bottom that we were heading to. I crossed my fingers and hoped to God that we were in the right place.

**Do you like it?**


	13. Chapter 13 Questions

Amy

The room was pretty bland. The walls were bare but the floor was lined with filing cabinets. It was fairly small and I realised that there was another door probably leading to the main room. A guardian stopped us as we reached the door.

"What are you here for?" he asked us in a gruff voice.

"We're here to do some investigations," Dimitri answered.

"Who are you?"

"Dimitri Belikov, Rose Hathaway, Amy Hathaway, Lewis McGugan, Christian Ozera and Vasilisa Dragomir." How pointless was that? Lissa flashed a fully-fanged smile at the guardian and he let us through to yet another boring room. This room, however, was filled with cots. There were humans all over the place.

"Alchemists," Rose breathed.

"Who?" I asked.

"They're humans that help the Moroi. They do business-stuff in return for the special tattoos on their faces." A glance at one of them showed a gold lily reflecting the light. "I know an Alchemist. She's called Sydney. She's actually really nice, but I think she's scared of Dimitri." They grinned at each other. One of the Alchemists noticed us and rushed over.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Er, yes please," Lissa replied. "We're looking for some information on the process you have going on here."

"Why?" The woman frowned. Lissa pushed me forward.

"This is Amy Hathaway. She was adopted by Mrs. Toran after she was born, and we've come back here to find out more about her."

"Ah, ok. Let me show you around." Most of the cots in the room were vacant, but the few babies that were in here seemed well-looked after. They were fairly well-behaved babies, they were fed and clean. At the end of each bed there was a little sign saying their name and date of birth. Some of the babies had been there for a while. I felt really sorry that nobody had wanted them. It was so sad and such a waste of raw talent in a dhampir.

"So this is another reason that guardian numbers are going down," Lewis murmured. The Alchemist, who's name was Cindy, took us back to the office room. She pulled out a file with my name stamped on the front and slid it towards me. I reached out and opened it to the first page. There was a picture of me when I was born, dark brown curly hair on my head and wide hazel eyes. I really hadn't changed that much. Information that I already knew was there, as well as the admission date. It was a week before Rose's birthday. There was also some information on Janine and Abe, before moving onto my adoption on the next pages. Most of it was full of legalities, such as a copy of my birth certificate and dates etc. The only thing I was interested in was a 'why', but of course that was not on there.

"Can I ask a question?" I wondered. I hoped she wasn't one of those snarky people that would say something along the lines of 'you already have'. They really got on my nerves, even though I did it myself. "Why are most of those kids here?"

"Well," Cindy explained. "Their parents maybe don't want them at the Academy or are too busy with guardian business." Hmmm. Janine seemed like a very busy person. "Abe Mazur is well-known for doing secret business. Nobody's really sure what it's about, and if they know, they can't tell."

"He won't even tell me," Rose sighed. I bet Janine knew.

Lissa thanked her and we left, entering the cold courtyard again. It was all very quick. But I couldn't help wondering what was so wrong about me being at the Academy then. Rose was almost four and she said there was nothing wrong with it. Rose, guessing my thoughts, started dialling a number on her phone. We sat on a bench in the nearby park and she put it on speakerphone. The place was deserted. Usually it was full of life. Strange. The phone rang...and rang...and rang. She was just about to hang up when a voice interrupted the endless ringing tones.

"Hello?"

**Did you like it? Are there any more questions you want answered when the mysterious person answers the phone? You've probably guessed who it is...:P please review!**


	14. Chapter 14 Answers

Rose

"Mom?" I asked. This wasn't who I'd called. "What the hell are you doing on Abe's phone?" I tried to think about what time it was wherever they were. Wasn't Mom supposed to be guarding? Maybe they were back at Court? That would make it...evening. Ugh. I didn't even want to know.

"Er...what did you want to speak to him about?"

"Well, I guess you can both speak to us. That would be useful." I heard some muttering in the background, and then Abe's cheerful voice came on.

"Hello, kiz. Why are you calling so late?"

"Old man, it's only half seven." It never failed to baffle me how he always seemed to be cheerful. I would be seriously annoyed.

"Hmmm. So it seems. What do you want, exactly? Aren't you on holiday with the Princess?"

"It's Lissa. And, yes, we are. We've just visited the dhampir adoption centre." The line fell silent. "So...you have something to explain, guys?"

"Well," my mother began, "I thought you already know why we put Amy up for adoption."

"Yeah, yeah. The Academy was dangerous. But it _wasn't_. I was there at the time."

"Exactly! You wouldn't believe the amount of letters I got from Kirova complaining about you."

"Mom, you're getting off track."

"What she's trying to say," Abe told me, "is that you were doing so badly in school that your mother thought that it was something wrong with the school."

"Something wrong with the school? You don't believe that my ninja skills are all down to me?"

"Ninja skills," Christian scoffed.

"Well, yes, I did. So I didn't want Amy there. I thought it would be good for her if she lived with humans for a bit to get an appreciation of a different life. Maybe she wouldn't feel so forced into it. But, Mrs Toran wouldn't let her go, so we had to use brute force, i.e. you and Dimitri, to get her away. It was quite lucky really." We were all silent.

"So," Amy ventured, "you put me up to adoption because Rose was a rebel?"

"Well, not quite like that..." It _was_ quite like that.

"I can't believe this!" She turned to me. "So all your stupid adventures caused me to go and live with humans, completely unaware of what I was. I've had my life ripped apart because you decided to throw some kid across the playground!" How did she know I did that?

"Well, how do you know it wasn't for some other reason!" I yelled back.

"Because it wasn't, Rose," Mom stammered.

"Well, you can just go back to being all over each other like you were!" I snapped, slamming the phone shut. I was gonna get killed for that, but I didn't honestly care at the moment.

"I can't believe you!" Amy hissed. "I...this...ugh!" She did what I did when I was lost for words. She lunged for me and caught me in the stomach. I shot a glare at Dimitri, wondering why he wouldn't help me. Lissa's anxious messages through the bond were telling me not to get into trouble. What the hell? Amy was the one punching me. Still, I tried to treat her like another stupid novice. I grabbed her arm and turned her around, reaching for her other wrist. She tried wriggling out of my grasp, but it was useless.

"Amy. Listen to me. Don't take it out on me."

"Don't take it out on _you_? Because of your 'ninja skills', I wasted the first fourteen years of my bloody life!" Ouch. Don't diss the ninja skills. I tried to keep my cool, which was definitely a Rose record. Dimitri finally stepped in.

"Amy, you have to understand. It's what your parents thought was best. Besides, you're now ahead of the other novices. It doesn't matter. Remember. It. Doesn't. Matter." It sounded like he was trying to calm down _me_. I hated being like somebody else. Finally, I felt her slack in my arms. She sighed in defeat and grumbled something unintelligible before grabbing Lewis' hand. I took my place as near guard for Lissa and we continued to proceed to the town.

**Do you think Amy went a bit too crazy? It kind of got a bit out of hand.**


	15. Chapter 15 Greg

Amy

As much as I was annoyed with Rose, I couldn't deny the others their 'tour of Essex' as they called it. Huh. I would manage to bore them soon. We passed through the main town and Rose and Lissa didn't look very pleased with the shops they saw. I couldn't careless. We wandered through the park and I swung Lewis' arm as I pointed out stuff. There wasn't much. We got back into the car and drove around. We saw Hylands Park, Colchester Zoo (which Lissa begged us to go to), Adventure Island (which I promised Rose could go to), The Maize Maze, Lakeside Shopping Centre and the Secret Nuclear Bunker. Apart from the promise of animals, shopping and rides, there wasn't much for the others to really enjoy. I had a feeling there was a possibility of romantic walks in Hylands, though.

We were just going back to the hotel when a voice called, "Amy? Is that you?" I turned around to see and old friend.

"Greg! Finally, a friendly face in this place! It feels like everyone but my parents have forgotten me!" He grinned at me and gave me a hug. Everyone looked at me questioningly. "Oh, guys. This is Greg. He and I went out when we were, like, seven." Rose raised an eyebrow and Lewis' eyes narrowed. "Greg, this is Rose, Dimitri, Lissa, Christian and Lewis, my boyfriend." I nodded at them in order. Greg was fairly short with ginger hair and a spread of freckles across his face.

"So, what brings you guys over here? Last time I heard, you'd gone off to some private Academy over in Montana."

"Yeah, we're on holidays at the moment. We came over here for, well, for me to be back home and the others just felt like coming to see England." He laughed.

"I doubt it's much more exciting than Montana."

"You never know," Rose added.

"So, you free any of these days, or are you busy with your new mates?" I looked back at Dimitri and he shrugged.

"Sure," I told him. "I'm free."

"Cool! Do you wanna hang out in town or something? We could get smoothies." Ooh, I loved those smoothies. I suddenly craved one really bad. I felt a smile spread across my face.

"Yeah, sure. I'd love to!"

"Great. We'll make it a date." Everyone froze apart from Lewis who squeezed my hand and glared. Greg backed off a bit.

"Oh, er, he just means a date on the calendar, right Greg?" I bluffed, trying to shift the awkward silence.

"Yeah, yeah. Sure. Of course that's what I meant. Pfff." I had a feeling it wasn't, but that was something for me to sort out. I didn't need Lewis getting jealous over this. We arranged a time tomorrow and said goodbye.

The rest of the journey was just as awkward. I could almost feel Rose's eyes boring through my back. I shuddered involuntarily and led us back. We passed the alleyway where I'd been attacked and started a whole new chapter of my life and I stopped.

"Look," I hissed to Lewis. We peered forward and saw a dead body lying on the floor. I gasped and ran back to Rose, tugging on her arm like a kid in a toy store. I dragged her over and we examined the body. Lissa and Christian stood back, Lissa almost crying from the shock. The victim had all the signs of Strigoi.

"You'd think that they'd conceal their prey a bit more," Lewis said.

"I thought we'd killed the Strigoi with my father!" I exclaimed.

"Well, maybe there are more than we thought," Rose suggested. Uh oh. This was not good.

**Another chapter?**


	16. Chapter 16 Town

**Yeah, I know, another chapter without your thoughts. Never mind. Just enjoy.**

Rose

This whole Strigoi thing was so baffling. I couldn't put my finger on it. I just...couldn't. We disposed of their evidence and I used some of the powder that I'd stolen from Sydney when she wasn't looking. The body shrunk up into a ball which I chucked in a bin.

"You've just thrown away a body," Amy informed me.

"Yeah, I know," I retorted.

"People will wonder where they've gone!"

"They disappeared. Blame it on a paedophile or something." She sighed and continued on to the hotel. I shook my head. She didn't understand yet that this was what our life was like. The night passed without event.

The next morning, Amy seemed happier than usual, whilst Lewis was extremely grumpy. She did up her hair and was all bouncy.

"She seems pleased," Lissa noticed.

"Hmm. I don't think Lewis likes it." We drove off into the town. Lissa and I decided to shop whilst Dimitri, Lewis and Christian went to explore. I'd heard there were a couple of gadget shops. Amy headed off to the local cafe where I presumed Greg was waiting for her. We nipped into Debenhams and Lissa tried on plenty of pairs of shoes. I waited outside the changing rooms for her patiently, fully aware that we were in what Alberta called 'hostile territory'; otherwise known as human shopping areas. She bought a few sparkly pairs of heels and some new trainers for me. We grabbed some drinks from TESCO and she swung her bags to and fro as we wandered through the town.

"Why do you think Lewis is so jealous?" she wondered.

"Well, Amy's friend made it pretty clear that he fancies her butt off."

"True."

Amy

We sat in the little cafe slurping smoothies. I'd chosen chocolate and Greg had strawberry. Olly Murs' song 'Thinking of me' was playing in the background and the sun was shining through the window. I grinned. My summer's of childhood had never been like this.

"So," Greg began. "What's it like over at this academy?"

"Bleh. Just school really."

"Oh. Well, why did you leave? We all really missed you."

"You were hardly there!" I laughed. "No, it's just a specialist thing. They have classes in architecture and stuff."

"Oh, well, I guess that's okay then." He smiled. "What else are you gonna do over here?"

"Hmm, I dunno. Anything going on?"

"There's a party, actually. And I mean a _party_ party."

"Ooh. _Party_party! What's one of those?"

"Like, one with alcohol and stuff. Like the ones you see on TV but never happen in real life." They happened back at 's. But I'd never been invited. "I'm sure they'd be really pleased to see you there."

"Who's party is it?"

"Oh, Chloe's. Probably just to prove her coolness. But it'll be fun. Everyone's going, even Ellen."

"You mean, Ellen Somerholder? Going to a _party_? Never thought I'd see the day!"

"Tell me about it."

"Yeah, I'd like to come."

"Awesome. It's at the rec hall over on the other side of town, you know the one? Well, yeah, it's there. You could probably bring your friends, but I don't know about the tall guy. He's kinda scary."

"_Dimitri_ is lovely." I emphasised his name. We laughed and chatted aimlessly about things for a while. While I was with Greg, I forgot all my burdens. I even forgot about Lewis. I was just Amy Toran, normal human girl, who could do whatever she wanted. I hadn't realised how much I'd missed that.

**Okay, we're almost at the end of this story. I do have ideas for a sequel but I need votes on the name. Would you rather it was called Extreme Ways or Ultimatum? When I get closer to the end you'll have a better idea of what will happen so you could probably vote then, if you want. I hope you enjoyed these chapters. **


	17. Chapter 17 Envy

**Ok, sorry but I won't be able to update as often as I have been as I'm back to school again. **

Rose

We met Amy outside the cafe and drove back to the hotel.

"So," Amy began, breaking the awkward silence, "we've been invited to a party."

"A party?" I asked, intrigued. Even as a 'responsible' guardian, I still loved parties.

"Yeah. An old friend of mine is hostng at the rec hall over on the other side of town. Greg said that you could all come as well, if you wanted that is. It's gonna be full of year 10's." I gave her a blank look. "People my age. Freshmen." Lissa nodded. "Oh, and, he's really creeped out by Dimitri." I grinned. _Everyone_ was freaked out by Dimitri. He was a Russian God.

"Can we go? Please, _please_ can we go?" I was literally begging. Lissa gave me an exasperated look.

"Do you really want to be hanging out with fifteen year olds?" she questioned. I frowned. "You can go, I guess, but _I_ don't want to. I'll stay behind with Christian and Dimitri." She looked at Christian lovingly and I made fake gagging noises, feeling sorry for Dimitri

"Remember, Rose, you're a guardian now. You can't go getting drunk," he told me.

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry, Comrade. I'll be fine. Have a little faith," I laughed. We dumped our stuff and then Dimitri and I sat in Lissa and Christian's room, guarding them. Christian was attempting to read to Lissa, but he was crap at the voices. I didn't know why he was reading to her anyway. Suddenly, I could hear raised voices from the room next door to us. I put my ear to the door and listened, putting my finger to my lips so that the others got the message.

"You don't own me, Lewis!" Amy was yelling.

"It doesn't matter! I'm your boyfriend and you can't go flirting with some other guy!" he shouted back. "It's called cheating on someone."

"Don't talk to me like I'm stupid. I wasn't even flirting with him. He's just a _friend_. Nothing more." Hmm. Just a friend indeed. Maybe it was that way for her, but poor old Greg had competition.

"Well, tell this Greg to back off then." The way he said Greg made it sound like it was a dirty word.

"No! I like Greg! He's fun and he's the only person here who's actually been telling me what's going on. I haven't seen my old friends since last Winter!"

"You could've spoken to them online."

"We lost contact." Her voice turned into a low mumble that I could barely hear.

"Well, you obviously don't like them _that_ much, do you?"

"Stop being such a possessive jerk!" There was a loud noise that reverberated around the room and then the door was suddenly flung open to reveal a very angry looking Amy in the doorway. I jumped back, hoping she didn't see me. Lewis was glaring at her back, wiping a red patch on his cheek. _She slapped him!_ Lissa realised through the bond. She slammed the door behind her and sat down next to me on the floor, trying desperately to avoid how watery her eyes were becoming. This really did hurt her, I could say, but I was proud of her for standing up for herself, no matter how much she was annoying me. Were all siblings like this?

"So, what are we talking about?" she asked.

"Christian was reading to me, but we can stop if you want to chat," Lissa explained. Christian looked like he certainly didn't want to chat, but we chatted anyway. We made plans to do a couple of day trips. Lissa organised a visit to the zoo, which I wasn't really looking forward to, but the next day made up for it. We were going to 'Adventure Island'. It didn't have the _biggest_ rides I'd ever been on, but it looked fun. By the look on Amy's face, I had a feeling that she didn't like rides. It was probably something to do with her wimpy fear of heights. _Oh well,_ I thought, _Lewis might come on with me._ It was a shame that I couldn't go on with Dimitri, unless the others were with us, because we were guardians and couldn't leave the Moroi alone. It was a hard life, being a guardian, but worth it if we were saving Moroi lives. That was what we were born for, no matter what. That night, after Dimitri relieved me, I wondered what we were going to do about that party. It probably wouldn't be as good as the St. Vlad's parties I'd been to. Amy wasn't much of a party animal. I doubted she'd even tasted alcohol before. She really wasn't _that_ much like me. I just hoped that there wouldn't be anything I'd have to protect them against. Lewis didn't really count as a threat, although he did look like he was going to murder her. Lissa even considered swapping beds until she remembered hat we'd ordered doubles. She felt sorry for Lewis but I'd feel sorry for Amy. Who in their right mind would want to sleep in a bed with Christian? Nobody sane, that's for sure. I eventually sank into a deep sleep out of my pondering, welcoming the darkness that came with me.

**So, you like, not like? I was listening to some songs by Amy Studt the other day, and they kind of remind me of this Amy. What do **_**you**_** think? Oh, and, Ultimatum or Extreme Ways?**


	18. Chapter 18 Party

**Sorry it's been a while, I try and update asap, I promise **

Amy

I couldn't believe that Lewis was so annoying! What had happened to us? A couple of days ago we'd been all happy together, and suddenly I enjoyed slapping him! Why? How could he not see that Greg was just a friend. I mean, sure, we'd gone out, but I was _seven years old_. I didn't know any better! I tried to control my anger into preparing for the party. I decided to wear my new white dress. It was long and made of lots of layers of thin wispy material. It was the perfect dress for summer. I combed my hair and untangled it for about fifteen minutes until it was silky. As soon as I'd moved, however, it fell in front of my face and tangled up again. Sighing, I brushed it back. I'd slipped on a sort of garter thingy underneath my dress. Rose had given it to me so that I could put my stake in it. Now that we knew there were more Strigoi around, she and Dimitri were even more alert than before. I caught sight of Lewis as I slipped on my sandals. He was wearing a dressy shirt and jeans. I had to admit that he looked gorgeous and it really set off his eyes. I shook my head and continued strapping up my feet. He ignored me. Rose took us out to the car; Dimitri was staying behind to guard Lissa and Christian, although I had a feeling that he might be out of the room quite a lot. I'd leant him my iPod to keep him company-and block out any unwanted noises. He took it gratefully, and I knew he would be very careful with it. It may sound stupid, but the only other person I would ever lend my iPod to was Ellen. All my other friends, especially Jill, were very clumsy.

Rose drove us to the rec room in silence. She turned on the radio and the music filled the soundlessness of the car. As soon as we reached the party, however, it was overpowered by a thumping bass. My heart skipped a beat. I'd never been to a big party like this. I'd skipped the school's dance at the beginning of Spring, and I'd never been invited to parties like this before. I went in and squinted against the lights that glared in my face. There were all sorts of blinding colours and they tainted my dress like a rainbow. I glanced around, searching through the packed bodies to find somebody I knew. There, over by the drinks, was Leah. She had layered black hair and piercing blue eyes that gave her a mysterious, and slightly gothic, look which she loved. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was an Ozera. She grinned when she saw me.

"Amy!" she called, giving me a small hug. "How are you?"

"I'm good," I answered, smiling back. I grabbed a cup from the table. I was _hoping_ it was fizzy, but didn't really mind if it had alcohol in it. I was fifteen after all.

"So, what's it like in America?"

"It's not much different to here actually. The people are nice and we have pretty much the same lessons..."

"Oh. So, who was that guy you walked in with? He was quite fit."

"Oh, you mean Lewis? Yeah, I guess. We were kind of going out but I think that's over now. He came over with me. We'd been going out since March." She raised an eyebrow and I saw the sparkle in her eyes. She was such a flirt.

"That's a shame," she lied. "I'm gonna go and chat with Saffi." She gestured to the tall girl with blonde hair down to her hips was doing crazy dancing in the middle of the hall. These guys had been my best friends before I left, so now you know why I was never at these sorts of parties before. I turned around to see Greg grabbing a drink.

"Hey, Greg," I greeted him.

"Oh, hey, Amy. Glad you could make it."

"Yeah, me too."

"So, do you know what's in these drinks?"

"No. Do you want to tell me?"

"No. You'd probably have a fit." I grinned and then gave him my sweetest smile like I'd seen Rose do before. "Oh, okay then. It's Russian Vodka." My eyes widened. Where did people keep _getting_ this stuff?

"Oh My God! It's not actually as bad as I thought it would be."

"Really? It's really strong to me." I'd never had alcohol before, so I presumed that it was something to do with having Rose's genes. I felt a pat on my shoulder, reminding me of my first day at the Academy when I'd been convinced it was an American tradition, and saw Lewis glaring at me.

"Can I speak with you?" he asked stiffly. I nodded. "Alone?" I led him out into the field and sat under a tree. "You can't actually flirt with other guys when we're together."

"I wasn't fli-"

"Yes, you were. I saw you." He was right. I had used it to get information out of Greg. Not exactly a crime though.

"Lewis, we're not even together."

"Yes, we are. _I _thought we were."

"Yes, and I presumed that the contract was broken when I slapped you." We continued our bickering until I heard a rustle in the bushes behind us. I silenced Lewis and turned around to see eight figures sneaking towards us. Their pale skin glinted under the moonlight and I heard Lewis curse under his breath. We both started breathing heavily and I could feel my heartbeat in my ears. Eight of them? We couldn't take down eight! We were only novices!

"What do we do?" Lewis hissed. I tried to think back to what Rose had taught me.

"We run."

**Oooh, the tension. The poll is up if you want to vote for the 3****rd**** title name. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! **


	19. Chapter 19 Run

Amy

We jumped up and bolted for the parking lot. Rose had probably sensed them with her 'Strigoi alarm', so our job was to run. It wasn't like we could help her. Suddenly, the moonlight glinted offof something in the corner. I could hear the Strigoi catching up to us and my stake felt cold against my bare leg. I shoved my hand in Lewis' pocket and yanked out the car keys, before jamming them in the lock and throwing myself into the driver's seat. His eyes widened at me, but his natural guardian instincts made him go with anything when there was a threat around. He leapt into the other side and we slammed the doors shut. I inched down the brake and we slid forwards.

"Faster!" he yelled at me. I stomped and we almost went crashing into the building. About half-way between the two was good enough speed for what we wanted. I grabbed the steering wheel, spun us around, and set off down the road, glancing in the rearview mirror every few seconds. I tried to remember everything I'd learnt playing racing games against my little brother, Sam. I always won them, but I didn't know how I'd do now. I had no idea what gears were or anything! The pale bodies were lagging behind a bit. Lewis put on his seatbelt and turned to me with a worried expression on his face.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"As far away from here as possible," I told him tightly. I need to concentrate.

"Have you ever driven a car before?"

"Nope." His gulp was clearly audible and I could practically hear his mental 'Crap'.

"What are we going to do?" I threw my hands up in exasperation.

"I don't-"

"Watch the wheel!" I quickly clamped back down and wondered whether I should've let him drive. At least he _looked_ older than I do. You have to be 17 to drive here, and I don't even look 15.

"I don't know, Lewis. I honestly have no i-" A car suddenly came out of a driveway and I swerved across the road. We were now in the main town. I glanced at the signposts and took the correct turning. I heard horns honking behind me and realised I was probably braking all the rules, but I didn't care right now. It turned out that I'd taken the _wrong_ turning, and we were now on the motorway. I sped up to meet the other cars, and soon found myself whizzing past them. However, when we got to a roundabout, I was going so fast that we spun around with an awful screeching noise. I heard someone swear at us from outside. Lewis grabbed hold of the dashboard and I could see fear on his face. Strigoi? No biggie. Me driving? Never in the world. I guess he had a reason; I wasn't even legal yet.

Suddenly, I realised that we were going the wrong way. A chorus of horns met us as I swerved to avoid all the oncoming cars. By now we could've been in Wales and I wouldn't have known it, even though we'd only been driving for about fifteen minutes. I had no idea where we were. Lewis' fingers were clenching the door and I could see his knuckles through his skin. My palms were sweating and my heart was ridiculously fast, but I was on an adrenaline high. This was amazing! Finally, we turned off and reached a remote area. I grabbed the phone, keys and a torch from the glove pocket and we sprinted out across the fields. I ground to a halt as I realised where we were. We were at the cliffs. One more step and I would've fallen off the edge. Lewis peered over and whistled.

"Lewis, I need you to ring Rose," I ordered him, handing him the mobile. He dialled the number and I heard them talking as I stared out at the sea. The moon was full and casting a light which reflected off the waves. I was so focused on my inner thoughts, that I didn't notice the five figures creeping up on us. It only occurred to me that something was wrong when Lewis' chatter was cut off. There was a strangled, "Amy!" and then his phone dropped to the floor with Rose's voice buzzing from the other end.

**Ooh, I'm so mean. I would put up more, but my dad put parental controls on my laptop meaning I'm only allowed on at certain times, so you'll have to wait for a while. Sorry.**

**The poll is up if you want to vote for the 3****rd**** title name. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! **


	20. Chapter 20 Fight

**OK, I now you're probably comparing me to Strigoi Dimitri at the moment, but the reason that I didn't post for almost three weeks wasn't just because of my evilness. Basically, I had the ICT GCSE Coursework that was due in yesterday, so that's all done now, but it took up most of my free time. And then I was suffering from BBAMBA (Ben Barnes and Matt Bellamy Addiction) which meant that I was basically watching Youtube videos of them all weekend, which distracted me. Then, once I'd done my Coursework, I finished up the drawing of the front cover for you. I'm not very good at Art, even if my Art teacher says I am, an it's not very clear as it's in black and white, but I wanted to wait to upload it before I put this up as they link together. **_**That's **_**where the evil comes in. So, yeah, sorry for leaving you hanging at the worst point possible, but hopefully this'll make up for it.**

I whirled around and was facing two Strigoi. I kicked into action immediately. I whipped my stake out from under my dress and kicked out with my right leg whilst scraping my stake across the left Strigoi's cheek. There were grunts from both sides which meant I'd hit the mark. The other Strigoi would only be out for a while, so I had to focus on this one while I could. I socked him around the face and felt his nose crunch beneath my fist. We circled and I noticed something that could come to my advantage. As soon as we were directly where I needed, I kicked the Strigoi and shoved against him with all my might. I plunged in my stake and yanked it out just as he fell into the water. Didn't know whether he was still alive or not, but at least he couldn't come for us again. I whipped around to meet red eyes glaring at me.

"Little girl," he murmured. "You shouldn't be up here. Poor, defenceless girl, all by herself."

"Who are you calling poor and defenceless?" I hissed, as another Strigoi joined him.

"Why, you're only fifteen. What are you doing over here, _dhampir?_ Who s your mentor and why isn't she here."

"It's none of your business." We continued taunting each other whilst I roundhouse kicked his pal. It sent him flying into the two Strigoi Lewis was up against and one of them fell off of him. This gave him so breathing room and he began to fight the other Strigoi, still gasping from lack of air.

This small distraction gave the Strigoi a chance, though. He leapt on to me and pinned me down. He was only about 6 foot 3 and fairly light. Dimitri had been worse. I kneed him and he fell off of me. Just before the other Strigoi got to me, my hand snaked out and pressed the middle button on the phone that was lying in the grass.

"Amy? Lewis?" Rose's frantic voice was still calling from the speakerphone.

"Rose? It's Amy! Put it on speakerphone!" I grappled with the other Strigoi and swiftly staked him in the heart. I could feel my breath coming in short gasps.

"What's going on?"

"Strigoi. Five. They're...one's dead...I think...but-" One of them kicked me in the stomach and I went flying across the field. I landed on my back and the wind was completely knocked out of me. Glancing over to Lewis, he was once again struggling against the two Strigoi. His stake glinted in his hand, but the Strigoi look like they were going to suffocate him. He turned his head towards me and those emerald green eyes were full of agony. I roared in anger and sprang up with a speed the Strigoi weren't expecting.

I staked the other one I'd been fighting with before he saw me, and then sprinted over to Lewis.

"Where are you?" Rose was asking as I pried a Strigoi's hands away from Lewis' neck. It gave him some room and I dragged my stake along the Strigoi's back. He growled and turned on me. Soon we both had opponents to worry about. "Where are you?"

"Fields. I don't really know." I punched him in the head and dodged a blow to the shoulder, instead manoeuvring myself to duck under and stake upwards. The most painful place for a man, struck with a silver stake charmed with the elements. The Strigoi's eyes were wide and I staked him whilst I had the chance.

"What do they look like?" Dimitri's low voice asked. I wondered when he'd joined them.

"The Strigoi? Normal. Like Strigoi."

"No, the fields."

"Uhhh, fields. On cliffs by the coast. I-"

"Amy!" Lewis called. He had the Strigoi pinned and in a good position, so I slammed down with my stake. The Strigoi's calls faded and I stepped back, gasping for breath. Lewis brushed his hands down and I wondered how I'd managed to kill five and yet he hadn't killed any. I stepped back and felt the phone crunch beneath my feet. Lewis was too out of breath to say anything. I decided I need to keep look out. Not many cars came down this way. Five Strigoi. Five former people. I couldn't do this anymore. I just couldn't do it. I was a murderer now. An unnatural, vicious murderer. It was just wrong.

I stared out at the scene. The moon was full and reflected over the still water. My dress was in tatters and tendrils were floating around behind me. I had a bloody gash on my arm and another across my back. The wind blew softly, ruffling my hair, and my feet were bare. I probably looked like a savage. Because that's what I felt I'd become. What about all those other adopted dhampirs? Had they ever wondered why they could pick up a table with one hand, or why they could hear the sound of footsteps next door? Why could nobody else see the leaves on the tree way up in the sky, or why could nobody play a decent prank on them without getting caught. They had all the benefits to being a dhampir without having to become a murderer. They lived in blissful innocence. And as I stared out at the bright orb, my God, I wished I was them.

**So, yeah, the front cover is now up on my website www(dot)wix(dot)com/pi_giraffe/lissasguardian756 Yeah, replace the (dot)'s with .'s What do you think of it? Is my artistic skill good enough? lol**

**The poll is up if you want to vote for the 3****rd**** title name. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! **


	21. Chapter 21 Healed?

**Ok, thanks to Roza Dimka, my reviewer! love you xx did anybody have any opinions on the cover? Aaah, probably not. Never mind, here's chapter 21. I made it a bit longer for you**

Rose

I stood watching the room. It was full of fifteen year olds. Not really my crowd. I wasn't allowed any alcohol either, because I was on duty. I sighed as I scanned the room. Nothing was out of place. It was just a normal party. Until my stomach squeezed.

I made my way to the door that led out to the back field and saw headlights sweep over the courtyard. _Shit! The car!_ I just hoped to God that it was Amy and Lewis escaping. The car was being chased by eight figures. Eight! I flicked on my earpiece as I sprinted after them. Dimitri answered immediately.

"Belikov."

"Dimitri, there's Strigoi at the rec hall. You need to get here ASAP."

"How many?" His voice was urgent and I could hear him sorting out Lissa and Christian in the background.

"Eight." He swore and I reached the Strigoi at the back. He turned around at the sound of my voice to find that my stake was already lined up with his heart. I jammed it in and met with a couple of his buddies. Some of them turned back to me and some continued to chase after the car, which still hadn't got out of the parking lot. If we had been in a situation, I would've laughed at those idiots. I fought my way through the Strigoi and the car drove off. Some of them continued to chase after it, which was ridiculous. They were driving way over the speed limit. Good kids. I'd killed three of the Strigoi and was leaning against the wall, trying to sort myself out when Dimitri turned up. I leapt into the passenger seat, told him which way Amy and Lewis had turned, and sat back, panting.

"What happened?" Dimitri asked.

"I don't know," I told him. "They just...appeared." He sighed.

"Where did they go?"

"I don't know! I honestly don't know!" Dammit, we'd lost the car! We drove towards the motorway.

"Where do you think they would go?"

"Somewhere far away. Really far. It's what I told her to do." They could be driving away, out of there country. Not that they could go anywhere. Suddenly, my phone blared. I reached out instantly.

"Rose? It's Lewis," a panicked voice stammered into the receiver.

"Lewis!" I sighed in relief. Dimitri cast me an anxious glance. "Where are you?"

"We're in a field by these cliffs, do you know where they are?"

"Yeah, down the motorway for about five minutes, right?"

"Yep, I think so."

"Are you with Amy? Are you both okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine. There were these Strigoi..."

"I know. I killed three of them."

"Five got away?"

"Yeah, sorry Lewis, I couldn't get them all. I did-" I was cut off by a strangled,

"AMY!" and then there was crackling and silence. I swore.

"Lewis? Amy? Somebody answer me! Shit!"

"Roza, calm down. We're almost there." The Russian voice soothed me just a little. Behind us, Lissa was clasping Christian's hands with a worried look on her face. The feelings through the bond were anxious and I pulled some of the darkness from her. I continued to shout frantically into the phone, hoping for an answer. Hope shot through me when somebody answered.

"Rose? It's Amy! Put it on speakerphone!" I did as she said immediately. I could hear her hyperventilating.

"What's going on?"

"Strigoi. Five. They're...one's dead...I think...but-" I heard an agonised shriek and a cry of agony.

"Amy!" I yelled, and Lissa flinched. Dimitri edged the accelerator further down.

"Where are you?" Somebody on the other end growled. I repeated myself.

"Fields. I don't really know." I sighed.

"What do they look like?" Dimitri wondered.

"The Strigoi? Normal. Like Strigoi."

"No, the fields."

"Uhhh, fields. On cliffs by the coast. I-" We knew this already, but I continued to listen until she was cut off by another,

"Amy!" that clearly came from Lewis. I heard a couple of grunts and then a crackling as the line went dead.

"Shit!" I cried. "Oh, shit! What if they're dead? They're only fifteen! Against five Strigoi! It's all my fault!"

"No, Roza, it's not. Don't worry. They'll be fine." Eventually, we slowed as Dimitri reached the cliffs. The full moon lit up the road and we scanned the cliffs, all four of us.

"There!" Christian called. I glanced over and saw a figure standing on the edge of the cliff. We braked and I leapt out. However, instead of running straight over, I stepped back and glanced. Amy was standing there, her dress and hair blowing softly to the side in the light breeze. Her dress had rips in it and tendrils were blowing away as I watched. She turned her head to the side and the look she was wearing looked so grown-up, so intense, I could hardly believe that she was only fifteen. She looked like a hero.

Behind her, Lewis was picking himself up. Five bodies were strewn across the floor. I wondered if she had killed them all. I made my way up to her and put my hand on her shoulder. I could almost hear her snarky _Do _all_ Americans do that?_ But I didn't get a reply. Not even an acknowledgement. She was lost in thought. We took Lewis down to the car and laid him on the backseat. Dimitri was going to take this car and I would take the one that Amy and Lewis had taken with Amy.

She slipped into the seat next to me and we drove back in an awkward silence, Amy staring out the window the whole time.

When we got back to the hotel, I put my hoodie on Amy to disguise her a bit. She looked a mess and I didn't want the hotel staff questioning us. We piled into the room and Dimitri hauled Lewis onto one of the beds. He'd broken a leg and sprained his wrist. Lissa set to work on him immediately as I scanned Amy for injuries. She had several scrapes on her arms and legs, grass stains on her dress and a large gash along her back which was leaking blood. It stained the pure white of her dress and was seeping further and further. I heard her swear and for a moment came up blank. Suddenly, I realised...

"Does anybody here _not_ know how to swear in Russian?" I was met with either blank stares or Rose-is-crazy faces. "Oh _come on_! Sparky, how the hell do you know?" He pointed at Lissa. "Lissa?"

"Russian 101," she replied.

"Dimitri-obvious. Lewis?"

"My Mum's part Russian. I grew up with it," he answered honestly.

"Nice. Amy?"

"Hobby," she mumbled.

"What?"

"It was a hobby of mine to swear in different languages." I saw a brief ghost of a smile flicker on her face and an expression I'd seen on Dimitri before. Wistfulness, I recognised, remembering her old life. Lissa crawled over to Amy and we watched as the gash closed up and the scrapes were healed. I drew some more darkness away as Amy thanked her solemnly and got up, edging towards her room. Lewis got up to go with her.

"Amy..." he began.

"Save it, Lewis. I need some privacy." With that, she shut the door on us.

Amy

I shut the door and sank down to the floor, burying my head in my hands. _What was I going to do?_ Five Strigoi. Five more people. I couldn't take it anymore. It was going to make me crazy. I picked myself up, realising I needed to use this time wisely. I peeled off my dress, that was completely ruined, and folded it up, swapping my clothes for a T-shirt and shorts. I nipped into the bathroom and cleaned myself up, washing all the blood off of my face. I dragged a brush through my hair and tied it up into a high ponytail. Grabbing my suitcase, I found the rucksack that I'd packed for absolutely no reason. I shoved in all the clothes I'd bought as well as my toiletries and other stuff. I zipped it up and hid it away quickly, knowing I had something more to do. I walked through to Rose and Dimitri's room, all conversation hushing as I passed by. As I turned to open their door, Rose called," He's in the shower." Good.

"That's okay, I just needed to get something," I answered. I shut the door behind me and started rifling through the drawers. I stuffed a fistful of notes into my pockets and then picked up the coat that Rose had slung on the bed. I felt through her pockets until my fingers touched smooth metal. I clenched my fingers around the gun and slipped it beside me.

I was just about to go out, when Dimitri came out of the shower.

"Roza?" he mumbled. "I can hear you, you know." I decided it wasn't wise to pretend I was Rose, so I replied,

"No, it's Amy." He poked his head around the door, his hair damp and touching his bare, tanned shoulders.

"Amy? What are you doing?"

"I, um, had to get something," I muttered lamely.

"What?" He trained his skilful guardian eyes on me and I quivered beneath his gaze. _Stay strong_.

"Uh..." I reached into my pocket for the first thing I could find and held it out to him. A warm blush crept across his face and I looked down to see a sanitary towel in my hand. Crap. I felt myself flood with mortification and quickly stuffed it back in my pocket.

"Let's keep this between us, okay?" I nodded hastily and escaped back into my room, concealing the gun. I grabbed my iPod from the side where Dimitri had left it and flung it into the bag. I zipped it up and tossed it onto my shoulder when a glint of silver caught my eye. I'd already put my stake in the bag, of course, but I'd forgotten about the bracelet on my wrist. I glanced down at the little charms on the elastic, memories flooding through my head.

_"Wow, I mean, thanks Lewis. You shouldn't have."_

_"I wanted to give it to you."_

_"What is that __thing__ you're wearing around your wrist?"_

"I_like it. It doesn't matter if you don't, 'cause it's not your bracelet. And it never will be. Deal with it."_

_"I don't want that piece of string around my perfect wrists, thank you very much. Whoever gave that to you is a total idiot."_

"_You've got a boyfriend? Wow. I'd never have thought it with __your__ face." _Becca's words echoed in my head as I realised I'd lost him. I clenched my fists, unclenched them, and pulled the bracelet off of my wrist. I set it on the side, took a deep breath and silently slipped out of the door, hurrying down the hallway before anybody noticed I was gone.

**Oh I love being unpredictable! **


	22. Chapter 22 Escape

**Okay, this chapter is the last one! Eek! It's quite fast-paced and often switches between POV's. I'll just put an 'R' or an 'A'. **

**Oh, and, it's inspired by Extreme Ways (Bourne's Ultimatum) by Moby. Original with story names, aren't I?**

**A**

I sprinted out of the doors and round the corner, itching to get away. My stomach curled with paranoia and I kept checking over my shoulder. Surely they'd realised I was gone by now, and Rose or Dimitri would came running after me? After five minutes of running, I slowed to a walk to calm my breathing. My heart was racing and the only thing I could hear was the echoes of my own feet in the night.

**R**

We sat and chatted some more. Lissa had completely healed Lewis so his broken limbs were fixed. Amy had gone inside a while ago now, and I wondered what was akin her so long. Dimitri came out of our bedroom wearing clean clothes with his hair damp. He looked gorgeous and I could smell the soap coming off of him. I smiled but that dropped when Lewis asked,

"Have you seen Amy?" He looked so sad and I realised that he and Amy had been totally in love. She broke his heart and I felt so sorry for him.

"Yes, actually, she came in to get...something," he replied. I wondered why he was avoiding the question.

"What?"

"Just something. It's not important."

"Hmm," I mused. "Maybe I should go and see her." I pushed open the door to her room, but there was nobody there. I felt somebody come in behind me and presumed it was Lewis. Knocking on the bathroom, I called, "Amy? You in there?" No reply. "Amy?" Shit.

**A**

I reached my own house. The little red car was in the drive and, as I glanced down at my watch, I knew that Mum and Sam would be asleep. I fished for the keys that nobody had thought to take off of me in my pocket and unlocked the door silently. I shut the door behind me and slipped upstairs to my room.

**R**

"Rose, look," Lissa told me. I turned around to see Lewis fingering a small charm bracelet. His face was morose as he stared at it and, I swear, his eyes started swimming. "What's that?"

"A bracelet. I made it and gave it to Amy for her birthday," he answered, almost choking on his words. I remembered seeing it around before. She'd never taken it off before. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "She's gone." His words alarmed me. Was she really gone? I went to the cupboard. It was bare.

**A**

I felt a moment of homesickness as I walked through my room and realised that I would probably never be there again. I snatched some clothes from my Sliderobes and grabbed some money from my money bank. I peeked into Mum's room where Mum was sleeping with her arm around Sam. I sighed and Sam stirred.

"Amy?" he murmured. I held my breath as he turned over and then went back downstairs. With one last look back at the house, I took off towards the main city. I was never going to come back here again. Never going to see the church where I was forcedly baptised. Never going back to any of the schools I'd gone to. I would probably never see my friends or family again. I couldn't. It was impossible. The guardians would no-doubtedly come looking for me and try getting through my friends. No, I could never come back here.

**R**

I rummaged through the clothes in the closet. They were all Lewis'. All the toiletries from the bathroom were gone. Her trainers had disappeared from by the door. She was gone. I sprinted back to my room and wondered whether the thing that she'd taken really was all that innocent. I found my coat lying on the bed and suddenly a queasy feeling came over me. It wasn't Strigoi nausea, but my stomach curled as I reached into the pockets. I swore harshly.

"She's taken my gun!" I yelled. Dimitri ran over with an anxious expression on, eyes wide.

"Why would she take a gun? All she came in for was...some..um, stuff. Your stuff."

"What stuff?"

"You're, um..." He gestured towards the drawer where I kept my toiletries and I almost laughed. _Almost_. I could imagine that encounter.

"Well, she took my gun. Wherever she's gone, she's taken it with her. Damn, Damn, DAMN!"

"You start taking the Moroi down with you and I'll run after her. Where would she have gone?"

"Her house, maybe?"

"Good idea. I'll get down there." With that he ran off, leaving me and Lewis to sort out the Moroi. I ran into the other room and Lewis was gone. Maybe he went with Dimitri.

**A**

I hurried down to the main town, passing all the places I would never see again. I made my way down to the train station, weaving through the few people in town at such a late hour. I hurried about to the booth and bought myself a single pass to Liverpool Street Station. I hopped up the stairs to the train.

"This is the Chelmsford train to London Liverpool Street," the voice on the intercom informed us, "stopping at Ingatestone, Stratford and London Liverpool Street." Two lovers were embracing behind the thick yellow warning line as the train came speeding down the track. It slowed to a halt in front of us and I got on the carriage along with the female lover and a boy with a bike. I sat down on the old, withering seats and tried not to put my fingers in gum. The train pulled out of the station and I watched the countryside fly by in the darkness.

**Lewis**

We hurried down the road and I sprinted ahead of Dimitri. Why would she leave? How had she left? Nobody thought that she would leave, did they? I scanned the ground for clues. There were no footprints and the ground was completely dry. I reached her old house, panting and wishing I'd been trained by Rose or Dimitri like Amy had, and looked all over. The car was in the drive and all the lights were off. The door was locked and the windows were simply on latch to allow in some air on this hot night. There was no sound, no sign o Amy at all. I sighed and felt Dimitri's hand on my shoulder.

"We have to keep looking," I whispered urgently.

"She could be anywhere," he replied urgently, "we can't find her now. Most likely she'll have run off to the main town and is hiding away for a while. We'll notify the guardians and the rest of the school. Lissa will do something." I, however, didn't feel any more reassured, but instead found myself wishing that somebody with a bit more force was headmistress. At least then something would get done. We headed back to the hotel.

**R**

"Why would she have left?" I asked the Moroi, pacing the room. "Did you see anything?"

"No!" Lissa exclaimed. "Her aura was completely fine. I tried that mind-brushing thing but I'm not very good at it."

"Maybe she was upset. After the attack at the party," Christian mused.

"That's absurd!" My outburst shocked them and I tried to rein in my emotions. "Why would that have affected anything."

"Rose, you're forgetting that Amy has only known she was dhampir and destined for a life of murder for just about half a year. She's probably still uncomfortable with it, and people she loves are being threatened. I don't know the mind of a 15-year-old girl, but I _do_ know that this probably isn't the life most people would choose."

"Well, why not? This life is great! We're bringing justice to the Strigoi, ridding the world of evil."

"Maybe Amy doesn't see it that way." Wow. Who knew Christian was so deep.

Dimitri and Lewis burst through the door, Lewis looking depressed and Dimitri anxious.

"No sign of her," my Russian reported. I put my arms around his waist and he stroked my hair as I began to calm down and realised the truth of the situation.

"She's really gone, isn't she?" I murmured. He nodded. "Why would she do this?" I thought back to what Christian had said and remembered that, even though we were so alike sometimes, we'd both had a different upbringing. Whilst I'd been encouraged to kill Strigoi and knew I would probably die young, Amy had her life planned out as a successful architect. Could she be pursuing that again? I felt a strong wave of compassion for my little sister. If this was what she wanted, I didn't really want to go messing with it. "Maybe we should just let her go..."

"No!" Lissa shouted and we all flinched back. "She can't go! She's a student of St. Vladimir's! She's required to live like this and become a guardian and...and..."

"So you're going to punish her for running away like Kirova did to us?" my voice came out colder than necessary, but I was still in Amy's defence.

"No, that's not what I-"

"Do you remember what it felt like to be dragged back to that place, denied of our free will? Do you remember how you felt when Kirova threatened to expel me because I 'kidnapped' you?"

"It's not like that, Rose."

"It _is_ like that. That's exactly how it is! You shouldn't go after her. You remember how horrible it was." I didn't expect her to have a comeback, but oh, did she ever.

"Well, Rose, do you remember that the person that brought you back was Dimitri, the love of your life? Do you remember what it was like to feel a hero, and the pride you have every time you receive a _molnija_? Do you remember the joy you felt the day you truly did become my guardian and the day your happily ever after worked out? How would that have gone, hmm?"

"Amy had her happily ever after. She had her life set out. She wasn't like me. She doesn't feel pride about killing Strigoi. She doesn't _want_ to be a guardian."

"I'm sorry, Rose," Lissa told me, her voice soft and honesty flickering through the bond. "I truly am, but we have to bring her back." With that, she picked up her phone and began to call the guardians. I felt Dimitri pin my arms to my back to stop me from grabbing the phone from her hands, but I went limp in his grasp. There was nothing I could do.

**Both**

My emotions were flooding me.

**A**

Regret.

**R**

Sorrow.

**A**

Lonely.

**R**

Compassion.

**A**

Stress.

**R**

Anger.

**A**

What had made me finally decide to do it? I hadn't realised that I'd been needing this break for a long time. This was how I had to live now. A vigilante, always on the run from the guardians that Lissa would no doubt be sending after me.

We arrived at Liverpool Street and I hopped off the train, glancing at the huge timetable above my head before making my way to the correct platform. The tube whooshed past, whipping my hair to the side. The platform still had a considerable amount of passengers on it, but I wasn't surprised, as this was London's busiest station on a Friday night. What I _was_ surprised by was how many people were actually on the tube. I squeezed myself in between two tall men and watched as a man got caught between the doors. They pinged open again for him as he let out some choice words, and he reminded me of that London Underground song that Saffi had playing as her ringtone. I would've smiled if the memory hadn't been ripping my heart up. I gripped the bar tightly as we took off. I had no idea where I was going. No idea what I was going to do, but I was away from the murderers. Free of the lies. I was out on my own. A surge of adrenaline spiked through me as I realised this could be really exciting. _Could be_. Let's just hope I can do this right.

**Wow, another story finished! I'd like to first say thanks to the people that have been reading and supporting me through yet another of Amy's journeys. I hope you enjoy the sequel!**

**On the subject of the sequel, I'm hoping to get it up tomorrow, if I'm not doing anything. If it's not up tomorrow, I promise it'll be done by Friday. Promise. With the way the poll is looking, it'll probably be called Extreme Ways, unless something drastic happens within the next 12 hours. If you have me on Author Alert, you should get a notification. If not, keep an eye out.**

**Another note, I'm (kind of) writing a prequel to Sunset. Sort of. Not really. Okay, so I'm hoping to make Amy and her friends into a real book. It's going to be all the characters that I created for this story as completely humans and set in Amy's hometown. It's about Amy and her crazy friends and they're trying to figure out why people at their school keep getting murdered. It's called Loyalties Tested and I've only written one chapter, but I'd like to publish it one day. What do you think, would you read it?**

**So, anyway, this is me, LissasGuardian756, finishing another story for you. Over and out.**


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